Dr. MacQueen is the founder of the McMaster’s Centre of Peace
Studies in Canada and its War and Health programme. He has been involved
in developmental work and peace initiatives in war-affected places such
as Sri Lanka, Croatia, Gaza and Afghanistan.

1 comment:

Thinking that Ian Morris ~'Case for War' probably has it backwards. Battaille's Eroticism p64: 'The statement: "The taboo is there to be violated" ought to make sense of the fact that the taboo on murder, universal though it may be, nowhere opposes war. I am even convinced that without the prohibition war would be impossible and inconceivable!'

Probably so: The taboo on murder is a precondition for war, not the other way around. The military understands this well enough. Consistent with that principle, they even put you through 15 weeks of testing your tolerance for abuse... A war seller would do best to seek out places where that taboo is strong not just for his personal safety, but also for the success of his directed-murder project. ...minimizing the 'side reactions' in the beaker, you see. And I think he's a parasite on such a place --the people who's taboo that is are his resource. Crop if you like.

The bumper sticker: 'some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them' ... might bring up the question of how war-sellers would fare in the 'real world;' when, say, they're not linked to the biggest protection rackets in town (e.g., Police, ADL, ...). Could they be both the first and last to 'go' outside of that context?